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Kano, the company behind a variety of build-it-yourself computer and coding kits, has unveiled a "laptop" today. A portable computer is probably more accurate. Whereas most laptops have a clamshell design, the new "Computer Kit Complete" keeps the screen and keyboard separate. All of the components are kept inside the display unit, and like a box of LEGO, there's an instruction booklet that teaches you how to put everything together. One of the parts is a Raspberry Pi 3 board, which runs custom software called Kano OS. It's packed with child-friendly programming activities and some basic apps including YouTube and WhatsApp.

If you saw HP's Chromebook x360 and yearned for the day when you didn't have to be a student to try it, you now have your chance. HP has made the 11-inch convertible Chrome OS machine available to everyone, with a starting price of $300 in the US for a system with a 1.1GHz Celeron, 4GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage. You can spring for 32GB of storage if you depend heavily on Android apps or don't quite store as much in the cloud as Google might like.

It's been well over a year since Xiaomi released its first laptops (if you even remember at all), and for some reason, the smartphone maker has decided to make more. Following the Mi Notebook Air series, we now have the 15.6-inch Mi Notebook Pro clamshell which, as you can tell by the name, is geared towards performance users thanks to its 8th-gen Intel quad-core CPU, NVIDIA GeForce MX150 GPU (aka the mobile version of GT 1030) and SSD. While it's debatable as to how similar-looking the Mi Notebook Pro and the MacBook Pro are (naming convention aside), Xiaomi wasn't exactly helping by dedicating a keynote slide to mocking the lack of mainstream ports on Apple's machine.

Microsoft might not be done introducing new Surface hardware this year just because the Surface Laptop and Surface Pro are on store shelves. The company has confirmed that devices executive Panos Panay will be presenting at the company's two-day Future Decoded event (starting October 31st -- yes, Halloween), hinting that he'll introduce new hardware. A source speaking to The Verge supports this with word that there will be "at least one" new piece of hardware at the event, so it seems like Microsoft's habit of introducing new Surface machines in October will remain intact. As it stands, there are a few systems that could stand to get upgrades.

Lenovo's convertible laptops and tablets haven't always been known for brisk performance, but you definitely won't have that problem this year. The PC maker is launching three new machines, two of which (the Yoga 920 convertible and Miix 520 tablet) make use of 8th-generation Intel Core chips whose quad-core power should handle most tasks with grace. They're better for voice commands, too -- the 920 and 520 have far-field microphones that let you talk to Cortana as far as 13 feet away. If you want to check the weather while you're on the other side of the room, you don't have to move an inch.

When Razer redesigned its Blade Pro laptop late last year, it finally had a flagship notebook that lived up to its name. The 17-inch Blade Pro had a gorgeous 4K display, a screaming fast processor, top of the line NVIDIA graphics and even somehow managed to fit a mechanical keyboard in a laptop chassis. The only problem was that it cost almost $4,000. Now, Razer is offering another option: a pared-down version of the Blade Pro that costs almost half as much.

The first official day of IFA 2017 isn't until Friday, September 1st, but the pre-event festivities are already in full force. Like Acer and Samsung, ASUS had its big press conference today in Berlin, where it revealed a slew of new mainstream, multimedia and gaming laptops. It also shared more details about its upcoming Windows Mixed Reality headset, which promises to be a solid, premium device -- so don't expect it to be cheap. You can catch these and other announcements in this highlight reel we put together, just for you.

Acer's Switch 5 tablet wasn't something to write home about. The kickstand was clever, but what else was there to lure you away from, say, a Surface Pro? The company has a better answer today. It's launching a slew of new PCs at IFA 2017, and the headliner has to be the Switch 7 Black Edition. While the 13.5-inch slate is larger and heavier (2.5lbs) than the Switch 5, it's also the first fanless 2-in-1 to pack dedicated graphics -- in this case NVIDIA's GeForce MX150. You probably won't be playing Destiny 2 on this machine, but the extra visual oomph should help with video streaming and creative apps while giving you enough peace and quiet to concentrate.

Dell is launching its latest generation of Inspiron PCs pacing Intel's latest 8th-generation "Kaby Lake" chips, with a bit more fanfare than usual. Exhibit "A" is the Inspiron lineup of laptops and 2-in-1s: Dell says the Inspiron 7000 is the first 17-inch 2-in-1 on the market. That might seem excessive, but the larger screen makes some sense -- foldable devices are increasingly used in "tent" mode for multimedia and graphics, rather than just as glorified tablets.

If you want the most portable 13-inch laptop that's also as fast as possible, Dell's XPS 13 laptop may be in your future. The new model is available with Intel's 8th-generation Core i7 or i5 CPUs with quad-core, eight-thread horsepower, a 3,200 x 1,800 (QHD+) display, 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 and two USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) ports. Yet, all of that fits into what Dell calls "the smallest 13.3-inch laptop on the planet," with 5.2 mm top and side bezels and as little as 2.7 pounds of heft.

With an over-the-top gaming desktop, you expect certain things: lots of overclocking potential, expansion, a mechanical keyboard... and, of course, windows and RGB lighting to show it off. Some laptops already include a few of those features, but all of them? That was rare... until now, at least. HP is unveiling its first laptop with Omen X branding (the appropriately-titled Omen X Laptop), and it's clear this is built for gamers who can't bear to part with what they're used to on desktops.

Do you still have a Chromebook Pixel-shaped hole in your heart months after Google pulled the plug? Good news -- Google might be bringing it back. A source speaking to Android Police claims that a "Pixel-branded Chromebook" will launch alongside the next Pixel phones at an event this fall. Details are scarce, including whether or not this is the fabled laptop that would run Andromeda, the long-rumored cross between Android and Chrome OS. That system was supposed to be a convertible PC with a tablet mode, a 12.3-inch display and an optional Wacom stylus, but there's no certainty that this design is the one that launches. We certainly wouldn't count on the originally planned $799 pricing.

When you spring for a Chromebook, the choice between performance and ruggedness is usually an either/or proposition: you can get a durable machine or speedy hardware, but seldom both. Acer thinks it can strike a balance between the two. It's launching the Chromebook 11 C771, which theoretically blends a tough body with better-than-usual processing power. The system is the first 11.6-inch Chromebook to pack Intel's 6th-generation chips, which promise both a speed bump over rivals and very healthy battery life (up to 13 hours on a non-touch model). It starts off with a 1.6GHz Celeron chip, but you'll get Core i3 and i5 models in September that should be up to more demanding web tasks.

The US is scaling back its ban on laptops for Middle Eastern flights headed to the US... though it's not because officials believe everything is safe. The Department of Homeland Security has exempted Abu Dhabi International Airport from the ban (which also covers tablets) after verifying that Etihad Airways has properly implemented "enhanced security measures." While the agency isn't clear about what those are, they include tighter screening for both people and the devices they carry aboard.

Lenovo isn't done making exotic concept devices... far from it. The PC maker has unveiled a laptop concept whose centerpiece is a flexible screen that runs right up to the keyboard. It's not joined by a hinge, it is the hinge -- you'd fold it up like a yoga mat, or maybe Microsoft's Surface Book. It wouldn't have a trackpad, but you could write on it and speak to it. There's no guarantees that Lenovo will build it (the company tells us that there's no hands-on time "yet"), but we wouldn't rule it out at some point in the future, either.

While the Razer Blade Stealth is a solid laptop, that 12.5-inch display is rather confining -- especially when you know that there are other small laptops with larger displays. Razer is setting things right though. It's introducing a new version of the Stealth that stuffs a 13.3-inch, 3,200 x 1,800 touchscreen into a similar body. The system is slightly heavier (2.93 pounds versus 2.84), but you're still getting that half-inch thickness and claimed nine hours of battery life. The most conspicuous change is the US option for a gunmetal gray color (shown below) with a much subtler logo on the lid. In other words, you won't have to explain Razer's audacious green iconography at your next business meeting.

We were delighted by Samsung's lightweight Notebook 9 back at CES. The Pro version unveiled at Computex last week promised more power, a 2-in-1 configuration and, most importantly, the tech titan's proprietary built-in pressure-sensitive S Pen stylus. Today, Samsung announced that preorders on BestBuy.com open June 11th before it launches in stores on June 26th, starting at $1100 13.3-inch model and $1300 for the slightly souped-up 15-inch.

It's been only seven months and nine days since Apple unveiled its first MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, and we're already looking at a refresh. It's not a redesign, so we need to peek under the hood to see what's been souped up or tweaked. The big change is the addition of Kaby Lake, Intel's latest generation processor. However, the amount of RAM remains the same, which is unfortunate for anyone hoping for a boost past 16GB. Check out the chart below to see if this upgrade is worth your time or if you'll be just fine with last year's model.

After weeks of discussions, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has said it won't enforce a ban on laptops and other personal electronics on flights to the US from Europe. While officials remain keen to "implement any and all measures necessary to secure commercial aircraft" flying into the US, airlines and European officials appear to have sufficiently stalled negotiations on the blanket ban mooted earlier this month by Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.

Whether it's your shirt pocket, the zippered compartment in your backpack or a pencil case, existing spots to stow your stylus just aren't as convenient as an on-device dock. And few laptops these days have built-in slots for a digital pen, which is why Samsung's latest convertible laptop is unique. The Notebook 9 Pro comes with a helpful S Pen that conveniently slides under the keyboard for storage. It will be available with either a 13.3- or 15-inch screen.

If you needed a clue that Apple might be launching new Macs at WWDC, you just got it. Typical free shipping times for 15-inch MacBook Pro orders have slipped from same day to 3-5 business days in many countries, pushing deliveries to June 6th or later -- conveniently, a day after the WWDC keynote. There aren't any delays for the 13-inch model as of this writing, but it's not clear whether that's due to more bountiful supply or a lack of planned updates.

For most people, Zephyrus is the Greek god of the west wind, gently bringing spring, and fruit, to the peoples of the world. For gamers, you can be damn sure that definition is going to be quickly supplanted by the one created by ASUS's Republic of Gamers today. Now, Zephyrus means a pretty damn powerful gaming laptop in a surprisingly slender body, measuring just 16.9mm thick when closed, making it the "world's slimmest," according to ASUS. By way of comparison, Razer's latest Blade Pro, a high-water mark for such laptops, stands at 22.5mm.

Based on NVIDIA's 2017 Computex announcements, PC gamers won't have to choose between bulky gaming laptops and desktop-level processing power for much longer. A new design called "Max-Q" is arriving in laptops that it claims are both three times thinner and three times more powerful than their predecessors. Think: 18mm thick, 5 pounds and with the power of NVIDIA's GTX 1080 inside. Plus, there's "WhisperMode," which can pace the game's frame rate to keep the laptop cool and quiet during a plugged-in gaming session.

It's been over two years since ASUS announced its original ZenBook Pro, and while the machine received a spec bump late last year, it's about time for the company to revamp its premium desktop replacement line. Announced at the "Edge of Beyond" event ahead of Computex, the new ZenBook Pro UX550 once again dons a 15.6-inch 4K touchscreen behind the spin-metal lid, except this time it comes with Intel's top Kaby Lake option plus an NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti graphics chip (with 4GB of DDR5 VRAM). More notably, at 18.9mm thick and 1.8kg (3.97 pounds), the UX550 is one of the most portable laptops in its class, beating the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 (25.44mm/2.62kg) and Acer Nitro 5 (26.75mm/2.7kg), which tout similar specs (except for their lack of 4K display option), while almost matching the smaller 14-inch Razer Blade (17.9mm/ 1.86kg).

If you're shopping for a new laptop for the back-to-school season, get ready to be spoiled for choice. At its Computex keynote in Taiwan today, ASUS showed off a slew of new laptops and convertibles, leading with the ZenBook Flip S, which the company says is the "world's thinnest 2-in-1 convertible laptop." At 10.9mm thin and weighing 1.1kg, the 13-inch Flip S certainly has a smaller footprint than other similarly sized systems from Apple, HP, Acer and Lenovo. That thin profile, along with new minimal display bezels that ASUS is calling "NanoEdge," is the clear focus for the company's laptop refresh this year.